Chichester District Council big shot departs

KING of the car parks Kenrick Garraway will be leaving Chichester District Council at the end of March.

He will depart from the council after a restructure which cut 11 assistant directors to seven.

But Mr Garraway, 53, leaves the council with great memories and a list of achievements in his 13 years as assistant director for economy.

“My job is problem-solving and enabling,” he said. “I do not wish to take credit as on individual.

“Our entire team brought people together and got people talking. They’re the ones that make it happen.”

He listed his proudest achievement as the launch of the Chichester Business Improvement District (BID), helping rural towns such as Selsey and Petworth to form business associations, and getting Midhurst and Petworth to work together.

ChiBac, he said, had also been a great success – bringing the police and businesses together to fight city-centre crime.

“ChiBac has been brilliant,” he said. “Because it is affluent, it is a city that would encourage the gangs to come in, stealing from shops and pickpocketing because the pickings are rich.

“ChiBac is very successful. At Christmas, 24 arrests were made by the police working with ChiBac, which is fantastic.

“It sends a clear message out to the gangs that is ‘we may be rich pickings, but if you come here we will do anything to take you out’.”

Mr Garraway is popular in Midhurst and Petworth, where he managed to keep car parking charges down.

“That gave them a chance to continue to do well” he said.

When he leaves at the end of March, he will be busy as two of his sons are getting married, but he is on the lookout for a new job.

“I am happy to go,” he said. “I am looking for another job, something that is challenging.

“I have only been in local government for 15 years, before that I was in the private sector.

“I like a challenge I like something to get out of bed for. I feel privileged I had the opportunity to work in local government.”

On the council’s management cuts, he said: “I think it’s good. What you do in times of plenty and what you do in times of cuts is slightly different.

“At the end of the day, what this council is trying to do is to still deliver a great quality service and to serve its community to the best of its ability and I think it is always what it has done in the past, delivered a gold service that people have really benefited from.

“Now it is time to step back and deliver a silver and bronze service rather than nothing.

“They’re clear about what they are trying to do. It is change, people don’t like change.

“It needs to be judged in five years’ time when we have seen the outcome of that.

“We are a close management team. I have worked with them for 13 years. I will miss my team and the staff I have worked with.

“I have had a great time really. Well done everybody, keep up the good work.”